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Gods, Deities, Religion
"There are about as many Gods and churches as there are Ships with Sails, everyone needs to believe in something when braving something as dark and hostile as these Oceans, even if it's just a rock which has a face drawn on it." ''-Fergus, Bard Sailors are as superstitious as one can be, it is almost a necessity when one gives them self to the storms and currents of the sea every day of their lives. There is an almost countless number of Religions and cults as a result, but there are a few common Gods that can be found in some form in most of religion: "Stone" (Morg, Monolith, Colossus) God of the earth, a god representing fertile soil, the valuable farmland rarely found around the Sea of Sorrows, in some religions the ground is even considered part of Stones body. Stone is a god of farmers, craftsmen and as the Iron Republic would have it, industry. Shrines and churches to stone are often hewn into the ground, a cliff-side or a hill.Further South, in some of the wilder parts of the world interpretations of this god are more cruel, some even insinuating that the god stone is dead, having lost a war and drowning in the ocean. "Storm" (Rahm, The Eye in the Sky) A god of Storms and catastrophe that is rarely prayed to,rather, people pray, not to fall under this god's gaze, as storm is a god of unpredictability, of both calm and flying rage. Storm is the god of farewells and loss, Sailors believe that if you catch his eye, upon returning home, you will have lost a loved one. Scholars scoff at this superstition and attribute these losses to the fact that sailors can be at sea for months and years and poverty is ever present.There are no churches to Storm out of fear that it would openly invite disaster. Brine (The Sea, The Sunless) The ocean is unimaginably deep, and no light pierces this utter darkness, this inherent mystery and fear of the unknown sends a sailors head spinning with fantasy and horrors. Brine can be found in some variation or other in every religion, sometimes as an evil entity, consuming lives, in darkness, sometimes as live-giving, full of natural bounty and beauty. Rhnag (The Gambler, The Fool, Lady Luck) Gods of Fortune and Misfortune have always been popular in folklore and common belief, even people that are skeptical of any gods existence will jokingly speak their prayer when gambling.Some more exotic believes liken Rhnag to a skeletal Ferryman and your last chance to gamble for your life. Regardless of what people believe, they have erected shrines, these are usually found in crowded places, modest, open shrines near gambling dens, fighting pits and often even open markets. Vaine (The White Stag, The Horned Wolf) Goddess or Goddesses of the Hunt, a patron deity that is prayed to by most at some point in their life, whenever a pirate captain spots a merchant ship for prey, when a wronged mercenary sets out for revenge, or a treasure hunter sets out to find his prize. The Hunt is not limited to Hunters, Rangers and Tribes, it can be found in any walk of life. Vaine has no Temples churches or shrines. Hallidus (The Scribe, Keeper of Tomes) Knowledge is power, many people know this, but people don't understand that it's how they use knowledge that grants them power. Hallidus is deity of knowledge, intelligence and wisdom, his followers are all who seek knowledge, nobody prays to Hallidus, their learning is their prayer, there are no shrines to Hallidus, every Library is his church. Knowledge changes the world, and he is a World-shaper. Kah'la (The Sun, The Sunlord, His Burning Eminence) Religion in the Lands of the Sun Court is restricted, by their belief there is only one true god, the sun, and all it shines upon owes their life to it. The belief around Kah'la is that the ocean once encompassed the entire world in darkness and no life could live, so for weeks the sun shone, so bright, that it burned the ocean until it receded so far, that land emerged. The sun brought life to the land and to spite the once mighty ocean, this life filled the seas. Other beliefs are outlawed as blasphemy in the Southern lands of the Sun Court, and are very publicly, and cruelly punished. There is an immense amount of smaller deities and gods depending on the local culture, anywhere in the world. "If something exists, there's probably a god or two for it." -Fergus, Bard